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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spicy Roasted Chickpea Fajitas

These aren't your typical fajitas. In fact, you'd probably be hard-pressed to find these on any Mexican restaurant menu. That's actually a shame, because these were really good! After making chicken quesadillas a few weekends ago, I found us left with a bunch of leftover ingredients...pretty much everything but the chicken! I was planning on picking up more when Maria posted a link to this fajita recipe that featured all of the traditional ingredients and then used roasted chickpeas in place of beef, shrimp, or chicken.

We've been eating a lot of Mexican lately--can't get enough of it, especially homemade salsa--and this was one of my favorite recent meals. The flavor on both the chickpeas and the vegetables was incredible. They're spicy, but more in a 'full of flavor' way than a 'sweat dripping down your forehead' way. Even without sliced avocado (we made a special trip to the store for them but none were ripe!), our favorite Mexican ingredient, these were fabulous! Give them a try next time you're looking to break the Mexican mold without going too crazy!

Directions:
1. To roast the chickpeas, preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. In a large bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, lime juice, and water. Add chickpeas and toss to combine. Lay chickpeas out on prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking and cook until chickpeas are slightly crispy.
2. While chickpeas are roasting, heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In a small bowl, mix chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Add mixture to the vegetables, stir to mix, and cook for another 5 minutes (until vegetables are tender). Add roasted chickpeas and fresh cilantro, stirring to combine.
4. Fill warm tortillas with the chickpea vegetable mixture. Top with tomatoes, avocado, and sour cream.